Fighting Diabetes in Rural Areas

Zerr now lives in Columbia, but says growing up it was hard to make the drive to get the care he needed.

Dr. Joseph Lemaster and other MU researchers are using a $1.3 million grant from the Missouri Foundation for Health to spread a local idea to rural areas.

"In Columbia, we use nurse practitioners to work one on one with patients and interface with their doctors to help them manage their illness," said Dr. Lemaster.

He says the problem with transitioning this idea to rural areas is that it can get expensive.So he's working on a solution.

"We would have LPN's doing this, sort of the same type of level of nurse that are already out in those clinics, working with their doctors, working with the patients on a one on one basis," said Dr. Lemaster.

Dr. Lemaster also says researchers hope to set up a support group system to help in the clinics.

The project will last for the next three years. Dr. Lemaster says at that point he plans to apply for more grants to continue the work.